Obama Proposes Longer School Day, Shorter Summer Vacation - Political News - FOXNews.com »
Posted By travelcn 1 month, 3 weeks ago in NewsPresident says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.
Read Full Story at foxnews.com »
1530 Views Share Story 118 Comments Report
Submitted By:
travelcn
The most thrilling thing to me is being on the road again for a unknown destination, I like to see different places, meet different people ...
Other Related Articles:
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 118 (view all)
-
94%
Justice4All1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
The problem with our public education is not the length of the school day. The problem is a system more concerned with the football team then they are with the basics. We don't hire teachers and ask them to help coach sports teams. We hire coaches and ask them to teach on the side as their secondary job. We also cater to the lowest common denominator.
Reply-
92%
normallysilent1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
doesn't matter a bit how many days a year the school is open or how many hours a day. If the children don't have proper parental supervision and don't attend the school classes provided for them, and go with the intention of learning Nothing is going to improve.
Reply -
-
-
91%
chevydog1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
This article argues for more instructional hours per day, rather than the "standard" solution of more days per year. Makes sense to me, since more days per year runs head-on into many traditional roadblocks. I think that strictly aside from the learning benefits, many working parents would bless this approach.
Reply
But I still think it ultimately goes back to quality, however and if you measure it. Not sure that more hours of mediocre instruction would accomplish the same as more hours of "effective" instruction.-
78%
rumple4skin1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
It is impossible to raise the "standard" of education in the USA. Why? There are 50 states. There are 50 standards. In Germany there is one standard for the entire country. In Belgium there is one standard that applies to the entire country. In England there is one standard.
Reply
My son is attending the University of Jena because he qualified based on his abitur. He graduated from 'high school' with qualifications equal to our junior college. All German students that have their "Abi" have an education equal to junior college.
We graduate high school students why cannot read 12th grade material. We graduate students that have no foreign language training. Every German student must take two foreign languages to graduate. We believe our primary and secondary schools are the best in the world much like most Americans believe we have the best health care delivery system in the world. WRONG!! There are many examples of superior educational systems worldwide but we continue to blindly insist we are number one. The sad truth is that we will not study other systems and adopt some of their methods.
We waste time accusing teachers unions, parents, the students themselves, and political parties for shortcomings built into our 50 state educational mess. There is a solution but it will not be found in the blame game.
-
-
-
-
-
87%
slate1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Money? Heck if money is what's needed, we should already have the best educated kids in the world, Every time this topic has been brought up, the knee jerk response has been to throw more money at it. Look around you, how has that worked?
Reply
We need quality teachers who have the power to punish children that don't want to learn. In fact some schools don't even want to give grades anymore 'because it may hurt feelings'. They can't even bring themselves to use 'red' ink to correct papers, they don't count off for spelling (see what that caused),,,,,, they set up day cares in their schools (when does a teacher have time to watch babies as they try to teach?)
The SYSTEM in mucked up,,,,,,,,, making the kids stay longer in the SYSTEM schools will not change the outcome. -
80%
Albmore1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I think the problem is alot deeper than that, but yes money is a point.I believe it is the misuse of money being the biggest problem in that area. We pay more than many other lands but the money is not spent wisely and poor performance is rewarded.
Reply -
100%
slate1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
A few? Yeah I bet the school board listened to a few folks and changed the system. Using the AC during Houston summers costs much more than waiting till the end of summer to open schools.
Reply
Where have you been? Have you ever seen tax rates do anything but go higher and higher in Harris County?
Now do you want to talk about all the other things I posted or are you ok with just calling the folks that didn't like the program idiots? -
56%
slate1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Texas went through the year round school thing a few years back en it was quickly done away with. You'd still get vacation time, but it was reduced, and it was spread out a few weeks at a time. Like having one week in the summer one in the fall, one in the winter and one in the spring. It really messed up people's schedules, and the teachers didn't like it either.
Reply
What we need is quality scool, as in 'back in the day' Children that went to school in the 1800s received a more rounded education than modern day kids do.
It's evident in their letters they eloquently wrote wrote and their grasp of math and scinece of the time 'over the kids today'.
Another thing that would help would be allowing the teachers to be able to punish unruly kids again (in some form) and taking all the kids off mind altering drugs so they can learn in a natural way, instead of having the 'kid' drugged out of them so the teachers don't have to 'deal' with them like children but robots sitting quietly.
A decent curriculum wouldn't hurt either.-
100%
hopesprings1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
But, you forget to mention, financially the year-round school system was a rousing success. It brought costs down, kept tax rates from increasing, streamlined bus routes, fully utilized all facilities, etc., etc.
Reply
Only a handful of cry-babies who complained they "couldn't get Johnny to VBS" anymore started up a special election in NWHarris County to eliminate the program. Idiots. All of them. -
100%
epiphannyy1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Year round school is happening all over the country and it is working. I don't know about Texas, but in other areas it has worked out well. Actually, very few seem to complain about it. It is a system where there is about a month (3-4 weeks) every 3 months or so. The time off turned out to be the same, but instead of getting it in one big chunk in the summer, it was spread out into several month-long vacations. It works on many levels. It cuts absenteeism from those who just want to take a day off to do something. With a month off just around the corner, most are able to avoid burn out. The schools are able to accommodate a larger number of students by rotating schedules this way, without having to increase class size. Economically it is a GREAT success because it cuts down on the number of new schools being built. I'm not sure why Texas had a difficult time with it, but every state I have experienced with this system loves it.
Reply
I totally agree though on the curriculum and a return to discipline. I don't think they should bring back spanking kids, but I think the teachers have had their hands tied for far too long and the kids realize they can get away with murder. That's wrong. Kids need to be held accountable and teachers need to be empowered to hold them accountable. And the curriculum needs to go back to what it once was. The basics are important, but so are the arts and other extra curricular activities. If school isn't engaging or fun, kids won't learn and they won't thrive. Just look at the kids today, the high drop out rate, the very high level of illiteracy, etc, to see what an education lacking in the arts and other extra curricular activities begets. The growth of gangs and kids so bored with school that there is nothing to keep them coming back. We need a complete educational overhaul if we ever expect to compete on a world stage. Honestly, I'm glad we finally have a president willing to admit that. I think Bush's No Child Left Behind was a good effort, but it fell flat. In theory, it seemed like a great idea, but it didn't work in practice...maybe because it was underfunded or maybe because it was innately flawed, I don't know...but it failed. So now we need to try something else. It's good that perhaps it's going to happen.
-
-
-
-
75%
thoughtforsale1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
In Germany, we shortened the time spent in school before recieving the "Abitur"(= unlimited access to university) from 13 to 12 years. The effects are obiously negative: Children don´t have time for other activities in the afternoon. The achievements are continously controled, so that there is no time left to "take breath" between the tests. There are more and more children suffering from burn out-syndrom and the subjects can´t be discussed in detail but only scratched on the surface. Children have agendas like little managers and suffer from insomnia, because they are afraid of the next hard day. Is that what a childhood should be like?
Reply -
27%
Endoscopy1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Our school system was great in the middle 60's. That was the last time the testing was that high. What happened since then? The liberal views of how school should be done were more and more implemented with the SAT and other testing dropping. Instead of going back to what worked they kept on going down the path of social engineering being more important than the subjects being taught.
Reply
There have been many examples of principles coming in to a broken system and the teachers were forced to teach the way that the principle wanted. The children responded doing great things with their test scores going through the roof. Then the teachers won the war with the principle and they were removed and the school went back to the under performing school it was before. One principle had the math dept. in the school going so great that the school won a calculus award and the students had to retake the tests because the testing people did not think a black ghetto school could perform that great. They made a documentary out of it. The principle was removed by the end of the documentary. These examples clearly demonstrate where the problem is and the teachers union fights hard to maintain status quo.
If money was the problem we should have the best schools in the world. -
100%
wtagg1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I would agree with much of what you say, but then you talk about the status quo, something that you have supported many times here. Are you for maintaining the status quo or not?
Reply
Your argument will be centered on status quo and what it means. Status quo is what is. That doesn't mean that going against the status quo is one definable thing (republicans vs. democrats). It means all the other things aside from what currently is. The idea is that it prevents you from climbing back into the frying pan from the fire.-
100%
RoxyRhae1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
What has happened is that highly-educated people have started having less kids & poorly educated have started having more due to rewards our system offers - and as a result, we have more kids that aren't pressured to do well and/or aren't physically or emotionally prepared for school - thus lower test scores.
Reply -
88%
Will13131 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
well Florida is a fine example of REPUBLICAN run schools. twas JEB that pushed thru the horrific test every student must pass that the shools are graded on. teachers teach students to pass the test not a damn thing that is useful..
Reply
Florida ranks NEAR THE BOTTOM OF EVERY EDUCATION BAROMETER USED... GRADUATION RATE IN SOME AREAS OF LESS THAN 50%..
AND YOU CAN LAY THAT DIRECTLY ON JEB BUSH. NO ONE ELSE.. AND THE NUMBERS FOR THE YEARS BEFORE HIS TERMS, DURING AND AFTER WILL BACK THAT UP. ..
LIBERAL IDEAS INDEED..
-
-
-
89%
reasonable11 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Dion is right about all of that. Teachers are also expected and encouraged to pull money out of their own pockets to buy "Little Johnny" supplies. If you are looking to cut money in the field of education, look higher up the ladder than the teachers! Education systems are getting heavier and heavier on the top end with zero to negative results. More administrators and less education. Too many people in their ivory towers loading teachers down with forms and paperwork resulting in less teaching time. All we have done is thrown money at the problem, and the money stays at the top!!!
Reply -
25%
Hobe1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Obama Proposes Longer School Day, Shorter Summer Vacation - Political News - FOXNews.com »
Reply
Is it fair our once Great shcool has gond downhill for decades?
The MAJOR Problem is the Teachers Union... This is a fact...
More Pay, Less hours, More benefits, More Time Off, and a really great Salary and PENSION...
All at the Taxpayers Expense.... Theachers Laugh all sommer from 8 to 12 free weeks vacation while hard working keep Paying the Teachers salary, even thow they are NOT Working... Also during the teachers none working time American students are NOT learning Anything...
The Union's Destroyed the Steel industry, Auto Industry, the National School system, etc...
When one is working June thru August and one sees his Teacher neighbor have 8/12 weeks free vacation You may ask the question, WHY are Teachers being Paid for NOT Working at your Children expense??
Sad But True, make Teachers work for their Pay, is that so wrong???-
45%
Dionys1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
"The MAJOR Problem is the Teachers Union... This is a fact..."
Reply
There you go mistaking opinion for fact again like most Repugnant Cons.
"More Pay, Less hours, More benefits, More Time Off, and a really great Salary and PENSION..."
When you take into consideration the hours teachers actually work, including those outside the classroom, they usually barely make minimum wage and these are the people teaching our children. As for 'more this, more that' because of budget cuts this year, every teacher is working more than 10 days of the school year for free.
This is utter crap.
"When one is working June thru August and one sees his Teacher neighbor have 8/12 weeks free vacation You may ask the question, WHY are Teachers being Paid for NOT Working at your Children expense?"
This is also utter crap. Teachers are paid a salary based on the work they do. That they choose to have it spread over 12 months, including months they don't work, makes not a shred of difference. Telling outright lies like this is dishonest.
-
-
0%
bearyfan51 month, 3 weeks ago
-
100%
epiphannyy1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Actually, Hobe is right. The Teachers Union is a HUGE problem. An example of the quagmire they have created is in New York state. There are literally dozens of teachers who cannot be fired, but have been found to be so dangerous to their students that they can't be allowed into a classroom either. Some are registered sex offenders. ALL should be fired, but the school system can't do it without going through an exhaustive checklist of hearings and appeals, so much so that it is cheaper to keep them on payroll and hire a SECOND teacher to teach their classes. They go to the main district building every day and "report for duty" as they are put in a room where they play on their computers and read newspapers and watch TV all day at the taxpayers expense. They can't be fired.
Reply
Should a sex offender be protected by the unions?
Should any felon?
They are. Look up the school system in NY and the problems they are having. Dateline did a story on it last year. It's ridiculous!
As for the unions destroying the steel industry...I can attest to that one too. My dad was a steel worker (Kaiser Steel in CA - where the California Speedway is now) and he watched it happen. He was making almost $20/hr back in 1976 with 16 weeks paid vacation, plus full benefits for himself and the whole family. Nothing came out of his pocket for health or dental or anything. It was all paid. He had an 8th grade education, but he made VERY good money as a crane operator at Kaiser. Still, it wasn't enough for the unions and they forced a strike. They'd gone on strike before, but the one in the late 70's wasn't a popular one with the workers. It was barely approved and really more muscled in than anything. And it was the end of Kaiser Steel. They wouldn't give anything more than what they already were and began looking elsewhere for steel production. Eventually, they closed up shop and moved out, leaving every worker without a job. It may have happened anyway, but it was the unions who PUSHED them to relocate their operations.
I don't think our country is in a place where unions have nothing good to offer, but a corrupt union is no better than a corrupt corporation. And neither care about anyone but themselves in the end. That is what I see happening with the Teachers Union now when they protect sex offenders' rights to teach.
Think about it. -
-
-
-
-
50%
DenCuddy1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Beeryfan sounds like he has tourettes syndrome. Now in fairness I really think that the RNC have a tourettes patient give their key note address, this is America, right.
Reply
What do republicans have against tourettes patients?
Did I get the thought process correct Alb? -
50%
Albmore1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Well this is AMerica! I also thought this was an open site for opinions and how do you know he or she hasn't been back since? Maybe they just didn't comment anymore. I think you left extremist are kind of like stalkers here. A simple neg. to his comment would have done. Of course you rather neg. me for welcoming him because he doesn't support your way of thinking. Now tell me that the right are the bad ones.I think you extremist on both sides are.
Reply -
30%
xnphnx1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Somebody stop this Obama maniac! This fool is sticking his crusty tentacles into every area of our lives! The only reason that Obummer wants our kids in school longer is so that the STATE can have more CONTROL over what our kids do and what they learn. This sick SOB wants control over every American from birth (if they are worthy of being born as opposed to being aborted) to death (which he wants the government to determine who should die and when). This man is an egomaniac that will destroy America as we know it and enjoy every minute of it. Damn you stupid democrats that put this tyrant in office. I hope that you are enjoying your hope and change - you useful idiots.
Reply -
-
-
33%
tamirama1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Uh, why do we have to cater to poor people who work all day and have latchkey kids? Not everyone in America lives like this, so does this mean the rest of us who do spend time with our kids have no choice? I would home school before I would allow this. It's not right. So because he grew up this way, we need to all adjust our lives to help the workaholics and people with 2 or 3 jobs? What if our kids want to do scouts or sports or (gasp!) spend time with their friends and family?? How will a parent be able to take a summer vacation with their children when everyone else is trying to take those same couple of weeks?? Vacations will be a thing of the past. My school district is sucky enough with the time that they do have the kids in school. Programs are cut, there is no art, too many kids per class. My kids do not get the individual attention there they need when a subject is not being grasped. And we are supposed to leave them there longer? No way..
Reply -
25%
fjgalt1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
What makes you think the government-run, compulsory attendance schools are primarily about education?
Reply
a few paragraphs from
Separating School & State: How To Liberate American Families
by Sheldon Richman
Chapter 3: Why There Are Public Schools
"As Milton Friedman has noted, if the only motive were to help people who could not afford education, advocates of government involvement would have simply proposed tuition subsidies. After all, when proponents of government activism wanted to use the state to subsidize the purchase of food, they did not propose that government build a system of state grocery stores. They instead created food stamps. So the question is: Why are there public schools rather than 'school stamps'?"
"We may break down the reasons into two broad categories, the macro and the micro. The aim of the public schools at the macro, or social, level was the creation of a homogeneous, national, Protestant culture: the Americanization and Protestantization of the disparate groups that made up the United States. At the micro, or individual, level the aim was the creation of the Good Citizen, someone who trusted and deferred to government in all areas it claimed as its own. Obviously, the two levels are linked, because a certain culture cannot be brought about without remaking the individuals who comprise it."
"The indispensable key to using the educational system for that purpose is compulsory attendance. Were children free to attend nonstate schools or to avoid formal schooling altogether, the state's effort would be thwarted. The state's apparently benevolent goal of universal education has actually been an insidious effort to capture all children in its net."
http://www.sntp.net/education/school_state_3.htm -
14%
j321jose1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
><><>American children are doing right and to mr obama><>fascism,socialist versus communist sistem that your are trying to push will not work stop plotting not one single day your has been president of the people that elected your><>your has sabotage the economy intentional,your has give comfort to the enemy,your weaken the army,the intelligence><>your has fortify them that with death to the usa><><>yo
Reply -
17%
j321jose1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
.><><>>the education sistem is ok><>all this patterns obama are trying >>we live it under comunist has children was hell.children need to grow up creative get a real education.to mr obama.a leader without vision only will lead a nation into the abyss><>your not able to lead either anyone of your cronys<><>your has made the world a more dangerous place<><>yo
Reply -
-
57%
Dionys1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
"President says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe."
Reply
The President is correct. Our children need more education, better education and to have a greater emphasis on academics over sports along with a retooling of the educational system to include 'trade-school' education for those taking that path.
-
-
20%
j321jose1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
><><><><><childrens want to grow up as we did,great when is a free nation><>under totalitarian like obama term of adoctrination is a liven hell for any child>>to obama take your eyes off our childrens<>><focus in the real job of a president let family and teachers do they best,obama your negativity will not solve and has not solve nothing><>as president><>your has fail><>is a matter of time before will be a few 9.11>>your made a oath,now your has broke the bow>>>yo
Reply -
44%
Painesright1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Before they force kids to sit for even longer in failed schools, they need to fix the problem!
Reply
No school vouchers = no competition
strong teachers union = rewarding mediocrity and complacency
teaching political correctness instead of a real education = failed schools
D.C. and Chicago have 50% - 75% drop out rates, but they spend almost twice the national average per student! California has the highest paid teachers and the 2nd WORST test scores!!
More money or time in school is not what is needed! Better schools is what is needed! There should be COMPETITION between schools. Teacher pay and job stability based on merit, not on longevity is what is needed. Get rid of the teacher's union! Get the Fed Gov't out of the classroom!!
Read: "Against School" which was written by an NYC Teacher of the Year
It will break your heart to read how our system is robbing our children of an education that would actually improve their lives... our children are being used as pawns to increase the power of politicians and unions.
http://www.wesjones.com/gatto1.htm
Then, watch: How To Brainwash A Nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeMZGGQ0ERk -
13%
j321jose1 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
<><>castro brought poverty to the cuba people<>send they children to school in the country side they never learn nothing>>and only got adoctrination and brain wash><><>god bless the usa><>obama get out your will follow zelayas steps><>this guy is a crook><>yo
Reply -
-
100%
nomar1271 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Too much paid for too many administrators and not enough to teachers. Allow participation in sports programs only to those with acceptable grades. raise the acceptability bar level. Take a half hour from team practice times and add it to classroom time. This should help dramatically and Should not increase costs.
Reply
-
-
13%
architekt531 month, 3 weeks ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
The Obama State department to give $400,000 to organizations run by Libia's Ghadafi children! http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/white_house_gad...
Reply
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.